Pirates’ Alvarez Not Changing His Approach

BRADENTON, Fla. (KDKA) — A little over a week away from Opening Day and Pedro Alvarez is rocking a .143 batting average this spring. It’s the exact same average Alvarez had 15 games into last regular season.

But he finished the 2012 campaign with a .244 average and 30 home runs, so you can forgive him if he’s not too worried about his spring numbers.

“I think that everyone who plays this game, especially at this level, wants to do well,” Alvarez recently told KDKA-TV Sports at Pirate City in Florida.

But Alvarez hasn’t always done well.

In his three seasons of big league ball, Alvarez has been wildly inconsistent, going from all-star numbers one week to numbers worthy of a minor league demotion the next.

“Obviously, it’d be great to be consistent throughout the year,” Alvarez said, “but all I know is I can go out there and control what I can control, and that’s attitude and effort.”

Ironically, it’s his attitude that has, at times, drawn the ire of Pirates fans, who see Alvarez’s icy demeanor as proof that he doesn’t care. But that’s something that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Since day one that’s been the one thing that my dad has engrained in my head, is never try to show anybody up,” Alvarez said. “And when things aren’t going well, which they aren’t gonna go well sometimes, is just keep that positive attitude and not show frustration. I think it gives the opposition a sense of satisfaction. And at the same time, it’s more for yourself — it keeps you in a positive mindset and it keeps you wanting to go out there and try again.”

That means, when the next slump hits, don’t expect to see equipment bear the brunt of it.

“I’m sorry I disappointed some people in that aspect,” Alvarez says with a laugh, “but I think we’ll all live if I don’t slam a helmet or two or break a bat.”